If you’ve ever done an outfit shoot with your blogger bestie or partner you know how much work goes into one – from planning your outfits, to finding the perfect location and working with natural light (before you run out of it!)

Today’s blog post is all about how you can plan for a successful and efficient shoot so that you don’t waste any time and you come away from the shoot with all the images you need.

ONE ::Make sure you have enough time set aside to shoot all your outfits.

Running out of natural light can be one of the most frustrating parts of an outfit shoot. You’ve spent hours preparing for and driving to your location and then – all of a sudden you realize you have 10 minutes left before sunset and not enough light to work with.

Make sure you know how long you need to shoot each outfit, how much time you need to change outfits and if there’s travel time between locations during your shoot.

Then work backwards from sunset if you’re shooting later in the day, or know when you want to stop shooting in the morning/afternoon. This will save you so much stress and rushing during your shoot!

TWO ::Make sure your locations all work with the direction of sunlight. This is one of the biggest factors I consider when helping bloggers choose the location for their shoots.

I always check to see what direction the location(s) are facing, then I check to see what time of day we’ll be shooting and what direction the sun faces during that time.

I know that’s a lot of factors to consider but it makes a huge difference in what direction you’ll be able to shoot and if you’ll be in direct sunlight or shade. Typically I try to avoid full sun but you can decide what type of light you like best!​

THREE :: Create a shot list before your shoot that includes all types of images you want to create. This way you don’t shoot everything and then realize afterwards that you didn’t get a certain shot for a brand collaboration or for use on your blog.

FOUR :: Batch at least 2-3 outfits each shoot if possible, this way you’re ahead of your posting schedule and don’t have to shoot every few days when you need another post.

The more outfits you can batch per shoot, the more images and products you’ll have ready to share. This means less time planning and driving to your shoots and more time sharing content and interacting with your followers.​

FIVE :: If you’re just starting to shoot with your blogger bestie or partner I would recommend doing a few “test” shoots together. These are shoots you don’t necessarily need to post anywhere, but you can practice shooting together without any pressure.

Use these shoots to learn what it’s like to shoot with each other and also practice manual mode, working with light or whatever you want to improve.

This way when you’re actually shooting a product or brand collaboration, you don’t feel as stressed because you’ve already got a few shoots out of the way.

And of course, the more you shoot, the more you’ll learn what types of images and angles you like. Your images will only get better from there!